Understanding common phonetic sounds is crucial for improving pronunciation and comprehension in English. Below are tables for both vowel and consonant sounds, along with example words and their pronunciations in Devanagari script.
Vowel Sounds
Phonetic Sound
Example Word
Pronunciation (Devanagari)
Notes
/æ/
Cat
कैट
Short “a” sound
/eɪ/
Cake
केक
Long “a” sound
/ɛ/
Bed
बेड
Short “e” sound
/iː/
See
सी
Long “ee” sound
/ɪ/
Sit
सिट
Short “i” sound
/oʊ/
Go
गो
Long “o” sound
/ʌ/
Cup
कप
Short “u” sound
/uː/
Moon
मून
Long “oo” sound
/ɔ:/
Saw
सॉ
Long “aw” sound (British English)
/ɑ:/
Father
फादर
Long open back “a” sound
/ə/
About
अबाउट
Schwa (unstressed “a” sound)
Diphthong Sounds
Phonetic Sound
Example Word
Pronunciation (Devanagari)
Notes
/aɪ/
My
माई
Combining “a” and “i” sounds
/aʊ/
House
हाउस
Combining “a” and “u” sounds
/ɔɪ/
Boy
बॉय
Combining “o” and “i” sounds
/eə/
Air
एयर
Combining “e” and “r” sounds
/ɪə/
Ear
इयर
Combining “i” and “r” sounds
/ʊə/
Tour
टूर
Combining “u” and “r” sounds
Consonant Sounds
Phonetic Sound
Example Word
Pronunciation (Devanagari)
Notes
/p/
Pen
पेन
Voiceless bilabial stop
/b/
Ball
बॉल
Voiced bilabial stop
/t/
Tin
टिन
Voiceless alveolar stop
/d/
Dog
डॉग
Voiced alveolar stop
/k/
Cat
कैट
Voiceless velar stop
/g/
Goat
गोट
Voiced velar stop
/f/
Fish
फिश
Voiceless labiodental fricative
/v/
Van
वैन
Voiced labiodental fricative
/θ/
Think
थिंक
Voiceless dental fricative
/ð/
This
धिस
Voiced dental fricative
/s/
Sun
सन
Voiceless alveolar fricative
/z/
Zoo
ज़ू
Voiced alveolar fricative
/ʃ/
Shoe
शू
Voiceless palatal fricative
/ʒ/
Measure
मेज़र
Voiced palatal fricative
/tʃ/
Church
चर्च
Voiceless palatal affricate
/dʒ/
Judge
जज
Voiced palatal affricate
/m/
Man
मैन
Voiced bilabial nasal
/n/
Net
नेट
Voiced alveolar nasal
/ŋ/
Ring
रिंग
Voiced velar nasal
/l/
Lake
लेक
Voiced alveolar lateral
/r/
Rat
रैट
Voiced alveolar approximant
/j/
Yes
यस
Voiced palatal approximant
/w/
Water
वाटर
Voiced labiovelar approximant
/h/
Hat
हैट
Voiceless glottal fricative
Tips for Practicing Phonetic Sounds
Listen and Imitate: Find audio examples of each sound and try to imitate them as closely as possible.
Use Phonetic Resources: Websites like the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) provide audio examples and diagrams of how to produce each sound.
Practice Tongue Twisters: These help in mastering tricky sounds and improving overall fluency.
Record and Compare: Record your pronunciation and compare it to native speakers.
